Economy United Methodist Church

Today we worshiped at Economy United Methodist Church, 321 1^st Street, Freedom, PA 15042, 724.869.7366, Harriet Hutton, Pastor.

Scripture – 2 Samuel 9:1-13 NASB –

Then David said, "Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?" Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, and they called him to David; and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" And he said, "I am your servant." The king said, "Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul to whom I may show the kindness of God?" And Ziba said to the king, "There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet." So the king said to him, "Where is he?" And Ziba said to the king, "Behold, he is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel in Lo-debar." Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, "Mephibosheth." And he said, "Here is your servant!" David said to him, "Do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan, and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul; and you shall eat at my table regularly." Again he prostrated himself and said, "What is your servant, that you should regard a dead dog like me?"

Then the king called Saul's servant Ziba and said to him, "All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him, and you shall bring in the produce so that your master's grandson may have food; nevertheless Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall eat at my table regularly." Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, "According to all that my lord the king commands his servant so your servant will do." So Mephibosheth ate at David's table as one of the king's sons. Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. And all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate at the king's table regularly. Now he was lame in both feet.

Bob’s thoughts:

This was one of the churches on our list that we had saved because of their early worship time.

I appreciated the striking cross. We were warmly greeted before the service and I believe everyone there came by to say hello during the greeting time.

Two women from the congregation relayed tales of recent scam IRS phone calls and the extent of the information the scammers had on them. It reminded me of my brother’s response when they told him he owed taxes on income from 2013. He replied that all his earnings for that year were from selling illegal drugs and all the money was spent on illicit endeavors, so he had no money to send them, so they hung up. Not that I recommend that course…

The sermon wove around David as a father, something he was poor at from what we know. But from Biblical accounts, he treated Mephibosheth well as an adopted son.

This is a small congregation, so I think it was particularly helpful that the pastor came down to their level to talk, like family.

Reference was made to David not being completely at fault because Bathsheba was bathing on the roof. This sounds off to current ears; however I believe this was the custom at that time.

The question raised was, how can David be a man after God’s own heart? We men must all look inside and ask how can He use a hopeless sinner such as I. We kneel broken in awe that He can and does, praise God. We are all like David somehow, still working though some part that may have been left out, kind of like being a screw loose for Christ.

Jan’s thoughts:

The moment we walked in the door, straight ahead up the center aisle, was a lovely chancel featuring a backlit cross accented by a white cloth. I can live without seeing a cross, but the beauty of that sight took me by surprise.

A few members stopped to introduce themselves before the service, then during the formal greeting time everyone present greeted everyone else there, including us.

The message was entitled “David, man of faith, man of faults.” The pastor began by re-telling the story of David from Goliath to Bathsheba and onward. She described David in his later years as a broken man with a dysfunctional family, but pointed out that God uses broken people.

She told the story of Chuck Colson, who was sentenced to seven months in prison for masterminding the Watergate affair. In the course of that relatively brief stay, however, Colson was born again, and when he emerged he was an entirely new person. She likened it to when a man takes apart a lawn mower, and when he puts it back together he may find he is left with an extra part. She affirmed that when we are broken and God puts us back together, He will leave out some pieces, too.

Knowing we are never too broken to be used by God gives me great hope…it also reminds me that we are all a work in progress.

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers, grandfathers, step-fathers, dads-to-be, foster dads, and moms who do it all!

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we pray the eyes of this congregation are open to Your guidance and direction and that You bless and encourage them toward the vision You give. Amen.